'Flutuat nec mergitur'. This phrase is the motto of Paris, France, and is translated as "Il est agit? par les vagues, et ne sombre pas" or in English "She is tossed by the waves but does not sink". This motto is present in the city coat of arms depicting a ship floating on a rough sea. Both motto and city arms have their origins in the river Seine boatsman's corporation; this powerful hanse ruled the city's trade and commerce as early as the Roman era. It is used on this WWI-era postcard to denote the French resolve in the face of German hostility and also the efforts (ultimately successful at great cost) to prevent German advance to Paris.